The national team for the International Junior Science Olympiad has been selected

After five exciting and eventful days in Frankfurt am Main, it has been decided which six students will represent Germany as the national team at the 18th International Junior Science Olympiad.

More than 4,000 children and teenagers took part in the first round of the competition. In the following two rounds of the competition, the most successful 39 qualified for the national final of the IJSO, which was again held in person this year after an interruption due to the pandemic. The six members of the 2021 national team were nominated after a demanding examination program with questions relating to biology, chemistry and physics, including a laboratory examination that had to be mastered as a team. These students will represent Germany at the 18th International Junior Science Olympiad in December 2021:

Jieoh Ahn from Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium in Dresden, Saxony

Meret Urban from Carl-Zeiss-Gymnasium in Jena, Thuringia

Anabel Magritz from Max-Steenbeck-Gymnasium in Cottbus, Brandenburg

Nora Trappen from Kirn High School, Rhineland-Palatinate

Nathan Cassack from Martin-Andersen-Nexö-Gymnasium in Dresden, Saxony

Michael Valler from Wilhelm-Ostwald-Gymnasium in Leipzig, Saxony

The IPN | Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education in Kiel has been organizing the IJSO selection competition since 2008. In Frankfurt am Main, the students were coached by an IPN team as well as by former IJSO award winners. The latter also provided the young talents with exciting insights into the academic and professional careers of the alumni: Florian Uellendahl-Werth (IKMB, Kiel), for example, studied biochemistry after his successful participation in the IJSO. As part of his doctoral project, he participated in a large genome-wide study of the influence of gene variants on the course of covid-19 disease, which he presented to the students.

The six most successful talents were nominated for the national team at the award ceremony at the end of the eventful week. Experienced mentors will help them prepare for the international competition. In mid-December, the team will set off to take part in the worldwide virtual event together. Around 350 students from 60 nations take part in the international competition.

IJSO Background

The International Junior Science Olympiad (IJSO) is a nationwide competition for schoolchildren that offers interdisciplinary support for young scientists from grade 5 onwards. The age limit is 15 years. The national selection process, which is conducted by the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN) in Kiel, spans four rounds, the fourth of which is held at the national level as part of a week-long event. Ultimately, the six best participants nationwide make up the German national team. The international competition consists of two theoretical and one practical team test and includes tasks from the fields of biology, chemistry and physics. The national selection process is supported by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK) and funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Contact:

Dr. Felicitas Niekiel
Telephone: +49 (0)431-880-7170
E-Mail: sekretariat@ijso.info
www.ijso.info